nVidia GeForce FX 5200 has no fan, has one analog and one DVI output that can be used simultaneously, works well, and costs $35-$55 at newegg for example.

This card doesn't ahve the performance of the 6xxx series, but if you want a card with no fan, this is it.

Thanks for your suggestions.
Yes, I hate to lose the performance of the old Matrox G400 card I have - it works well, and I replaced the tiny fan with a heat-pipe cooler, so it's silent. I was looking at the new P750 and thinking about upgrading to it, but the performance hit with Ultra is significant - SM themselves reckon the new type cards will perform around 9 times faster(!).

I'm pretty much set on Ultra 2, though - I did some trials and it works extremely well with a very rough greenscreen - impressive and quick to use.

Does anyone know if you can have more than one Video Card in a PC - maybe that's a way round it?

Andy

Remember that the XFX 7800 and below only output two monitors at one time, not three or four. The overlay only is available to the 2nd monitor, not the TV or HDTV output unless the Tv is the 2nd monitor. You can select two monitors, or a monitor and a TV, and that's it. The super duper high speed does nothing for the firewire output at all and also nothing for the 2nd monitor option in V6b. The video will still jumpity bumbity into the second monitor with this card. That's why I am switching back to the Matrox APVe as it will overlay into the "S" video or HDTV output even while having two monitors going. What this means is when you do a render to preview the preview will play in media player and the "S" video overlay and HDTV overlay. Then you can go back to edit into the firewire connection. The video card has nothing to do with the jumpy video you see on playback on the timeline, but everything else does. It cost me 500 bucks to find this out. And I repeat, you see the same jumpy video weather you select the firewire or 2nd monitor option in V6b. The XFX 7800 is one of the fastest cards on the market and it does nothing for Vegas. It does throw a lot of heat into the machine however. I have been experimenting for two months now (High Def) with few results.

JJK

You can have more than one video card in a PC. But, there are problems for what you are wanting.

1. nVidia makes a SLi that attaches 2 of their top end cards together and blows away everything else that is out there, but you have to have 2 pci-E slots and they both have fans.

2. You can install a pci graphics card along with a agp graphics card, but more often than not, they become unstable or they don't want to work well together. If you were to try out this option, you would definitely want to buy the same kind, just one would be PCI and the other AGP. PCI is slower than AGP and AGP is slower than PCI-E

Hi. Just went through this exact same thing with Ultra 2. I had a Saphire Radeon 9200 or 9600. So the problem was not necessarily the fact it was a Radeon, but it was Saphire's oem implementation of that chip. SM tech support was emphatic about sticking with an ATI chip set on an ATI card. Avoid oem manufacturers.

They also suggested as a mid level card the Nvidia 6600GT. That's the one I got... DVI and VGA out. My problems with Ultra 2 went away!

Galen

wow - I feel a can of worms a-coming! ;-)

OK, seing as I have an AGC motherboard - and I'm not going to upgrade my whole system for one low-budget shoot - the Nvidia 6600GT seems like a good bet - thanks for the tip.

Which version did you get, btw? A quick bit of Googling reveals they are made by several different manufacturers... but you reckon avoid OEM - do nVidia make cards themselves, or just supply chipsets? (sorry - complete ignorance on this one ;-)

Andy

I have had good experiences with xfx and chaintec nVidia cards... you can usually find good prices on www.pricewatch.com, just make sure you check out who you buy from before you buy.

Hi again,

Nvidia does not produce video cards themselves.

I rechecked the card I ordered and was wrong. It was a straight Geforce 6600, not the GT.

Here's the newegg info:
Rosewill R6600-256D Geforce 6600 256MB DDR AGP 4X/8X Video Card - Retail

Right now I think it is about $117.00 or around there.

Good luck.